The Meditations on learning from Marley

The Meditations will perform at the 13th annual Island Festival at 10 p.m. Saturday at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place.

KALAMAZOO -- Ansel Cridland, frontman for the reggae trio The Meditations, learned an early lesson from the master.

Cridland's band experienced success in Jamaica with the single "Woman Is Like a Shadow," which was recorded in 1974 and released two years later. The smooth harmonies of Cridland, Danny Clarke and Winston Watson caught the ear of reggae legend Bob Marley.

As the story goes, Marley tracked down Clarke, put him in a cab and told him not to stop until he could find the other band members to start recording. Once Clarke found Cridland, it was difficult to convince him.

"It took me a while to believe it was true," Cridland said during a phone interview from New York. "'Bob Marley? Are you kidding, mon?'"

Marley invited the group, which will headline the Kalamazoo Island Festival at 10 p.m. Saturday at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place, to sing backing vocals on several songs, including "Blackman Redemption," "Punky Reggae Party" and "Rastaman Live Up." He later asked them to open at his legendary One Love Peace concert in April 1978.

Remembering the two-month practice sessions leading up to the show, Cridland said he was struck by Marley's drive.

Marley would sing until he was hoarse, Cridland said. During a two-night leave, Cridland said he talked to Marley about taking it easy.

Marley would sing for hours, including while the musicians waited for meals to be served, Cridland said. Even when the others were tired of playing, Marley kept rehearsing.

"I said, 'Man, this man is so great.' That was the man he was, a very dedicated man," he said. "I loved music, but it showed how much you have to dedicate to play music."

More than three decades since the release of "Shadow," Cridland and Co. are still at it.
The Meditations released a few albums before splitting up in the early '80s, including "Guidance" on Marley's Tuff Gong label. During the break, Cridland performed as Ansel Meditations and Clarke and Watson as The Meditations. They reunited in the early '90s and released "The Return of The Meditations" in 1992. Their next album, "Ghetto Knowledge," took seven years to come out.

Their latest album, "Stand in Love," was released in 2004 and re-released last year. It contains some of the harmonies Marley was drawn to more than 30 years ago. And Cridland is still living what Marley showed him.

"If you believe in something ... you have to dedicate yourself to it," he said.

Marley was a hard worker, but there was more to it. He believed in his music, the message. Cridland and The Meditations are trying to do the same.
"You have to feel the song. You have to feel it," Cridland said.